1. Technical Field
The technical field relates to surgical clip appliers. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an endoscopic surgical clip applier having a mechanism for stabilizing the jaw structure during the insertion of a surgical clip.
2. Description of Related Art
Endoscopic staplers and clip appliers are known in the art and are used for a number of distinct and useful surgical procedures. In the case of a laparoscopic surgical procedure, access to the interior of an abdomen is achieved through narrow tubes or cannulas inserted through a small entrance incision in the skin. Minimally invasive procedures performed elsewhere in the body are often generally referred to as endoscopic procedures. Typically, a tube or cannula device is extended into the patient's body through the entrance incision to provide an access port. The port allows the surgeon to insert a number of different surgical instruments therethrough using a trocar and for performing surgical procedures far removed from the incision.
During a majority of these procedures, the surgeon must often terminate the flow of blood or another fluid through one or more vessels. The surgeon will often apply a surgical clip to a blood vessel or another duct to prevent the flow of body fluids therethrough during the procedure. An endoscopic clip applier is known in the art for applying a single clip during an entry to the body cavity. Such clips are typically fabricated from a biocompatible material and are usually compressed over a vessel. Once applied to the vessel, the compressed clip terminates the flow of fluid therethrough.
Endoscopic clip appliers that are able to apply multiple clips in endoscopic or laparoscopic procedures during a single entry into the body cavity are described in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,084,057 and 5,100,420 to Green et al., which are both incorporated by reference in their entirety. Another multiple endoscopic clip applier is disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,436 by Pratt et al., the contents of which is also hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. These devices are typically, though not necessarily, used during a single surgical procedure. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/515,341 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,502 to Pier et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, discloses a resterilizable surgical clip applier. The clip applier advances and forms multiple clips during a single insertion into the body cavity. This resterilizable clip applier is configured to receive and cooperate with an interchangeable clip magazine so as to advance and form multiple clips during a single entry into a body cavity. One significant design goal is that the surgical clip be loaded between the jaws without any compression of the clip from the loading procedure. Such bending or torque of the clip during loading often has a number of unintended consequences. Such compression during loading may alter slightly the alignment of the clip between the jaws. This will cause the surgeon to remove the clip from between the jaws for discarding the clip. Additionally, such preloading compression may slightly compress parts of the clip and change a geometry of the clip. This may require the surgeon to remove the compressed clip from between the jaws for discarding the clip.
Endoscopic or laparoscopic procedures are often performed remotely from the incision. Consequently, application of clips may be complicated by a reduced field of view or reduced tactile feedback for the user at the proximal end of the device. It is therefore desirable to improve the operation of the instrument by providing an indication to the user of a firing of an individual clip, the depletion of the clips contained in the loading unit, or any other surgical event. It is also desirable to provide a surgical clip applier that promotes a successful loading of the clip and that wedges the jaws of the surgical clip applier open, then loads the clip between the jaws, in order to prevent any damage or excessive compression of the clip and prevents compression of the jaws on the clip before firing.